With the passage of the Check 21 Act (“Check21”), financial institutions are now able to electronically process transactions based on check images. Before Check21, banks would physically endorse checks with a stamp as a means for recording the processing of the check, e.g., when it cleared, the bank name, etc. With the advent of electronic images, however, banks have limited ability to physically stamp or endorse checks since many checks are being presented as electronic images. Nonetheless, from an operational standpoint, banks would still prefer to endorse checks either physically or electronically.
Currently, the banking industry has adopted black white images, as opposed to grayscale or color, as the standard for image based check processing. One of the inherent problems with attempting to electronically endorse a black white check image is that there is a risk of obscuring or overwriting the image information present on the check image. This same problem would likewise exist if the banking industry adopted the use of grayscale, color or other bitonal images for check processing.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method that can provide a soft endorsement on check images without damaging the information on the check images.